Self-starter for automobiles.



P. OKEY.

SELF STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.20.1914.

Patented Nov.

LIJ F I INVE TOR v ,l@

WITNESSES runny OKEY, or"

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' SEE-STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

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. To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERRY Omar, a citizen of the United States of America, and residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Starters for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to self-starters for automobiles and consists in the production of a simple mechanism operating through the 'medium of an inertia element to throw a starting motor into cooperative relation to the fly-wheel of the engine without material jar or. undue'stress upon the motor. With the utilization of simple and direct clutchmg apparatus, 1 efiect a smooth but eficient coupling of the starting motor to engine fly wheel, and yet the connection is such owing to the improved features of my apparatus, that this starting motor may be thus connected or disconnected without any danger of sticking or wedging. 1

' My improvement is of primary importance because of its simplicity and because of the. direct CODIIGCtiOI1 tO the engine ofwhich the starting motor is capable. No ex-' cessive mechanism is required, for the main essentials of theinvention are a feed shaft, a friction clutch connecting such feed shaft to the starting motor, an inertia pinion-element automatically movable with the initial rotation of the feed shaft upon which it is threaded to engage or disengage with a rack on the fly-wheel of the engine, and abrupt checking elements to check the pinion element in its endwise movement in such a manner as to obviate danger of subsequent sticking or wedging.

The principal features of my invention, in so far as any of thefeatures may be segregated from a combination which practioally essential to success may be said to be .the checking means and the friction clutch The bearing supports a feed shaft 7 hav- 7 inga feed screw 8 throughout a portion of its length and carrying upon its opposite end a disk enlargementQ fitting in a clutch yoke'lO. Jlhe inner face of the clutch' yoke is provided. with a friction surface of leather or other material as at 11 and adjacent to the outer face of the disk enlargement is a sliding ring 12 faced with friction I material as at 13. lhe clutch elements are maintained in operative relation by a coil spring 14 embracing the shaft 7 and bearing against the ring -12 at one end and against the clutchyoke at its opposite end; The clutch yoke as an entity is carried upon and rotatable with the shaft of an electric motor 15, shown to be under thecontrol of a switch 16.

At either end of the feed screw is a checking element rigidly secured thereto and designated 17 and 18, respectively. The oper rspcificatipn f Ietters Patent- Patented Nov. 14, 1 916.1 I! Application filed march 20, 191a Serial no. 825,967.

i of the starter in operatioii. Fig. 2 is a de-' the teeth 19 being turned in a direction op posits to the teeth 20. The pinion element is in the nature of a traveling sleeve 21 carrying a fiy-wheel 22 and a pinion 23, the sleeve being threaded to fit upon and be moved by the feed screw 8. Both ends of-the travcling sleeve are provided with triangular teeth as at 24 and 25 and these teeth are complemental to the teeth 19 and 20. f

The operation will be apparent. Fig. 1 shows the startingmechanim in inoperative position. When the switch is closed and the motor starts to rotate, the friction clutch takes hold upon the feed shaft with a comparatively gradual action and causes spinning of such feed shaft. The pinion element, because of its inertia, fails to ro tate and is therefore'caused to travel until it meshes with the rack on the'periphery of the fiy-wheels 2 and is finally checked by the checking element 18. As the engine picks up speed, the pinion element is automatically kicked out of mesh with the main flywheel 2;

The principal advantages would seem to reside not only in the friction clutch and checking devices but also in the provision of a perfectly balanced mechanism. A vital consideration in this would seem to reside in the miniature fly-wheel 22 which gives the necessary inertia and at the same time insures the proper balance of the parts throughout the operation.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new is:

1. A self-starter for gas engines and the like comprising a feed'shaft, a motor, a.

like comprising a feed shaft, a motor, a driven element, a floating driving element movable by said feed shaft between operative and inoperative positions due to its inertia and rotation of said feed shaft, a flywheel to increase such inertia, an interposed friction clutch, and elements checking said driving element at either end of its movement, said checking elements being free from checking surfaces of a frictional nature.

3. A self-starter for gas engines and the like comprising a feed shaft, a motor, a driven gear, and a fly-wheel inertia element movable along and by said feed shaft and carrying a driving gear, and checking elements for said traveling fly-wheel.

In testimony whereof I, hereby, affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

PERRY OKEY.

Witnesses:

URBAN C. KAUFMANN, ELIZABETH B. JOHNSTON. 

